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Devon's ambulance service lost a fifth of its staff in the last financial year and has about 100 people on long-term sick leave.

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust’s (SWASFT) is facing unprecedented demand for its services, but has also been rocked by complaints and staff suicides.

Members of the GMB union recently called for the resignation of the trust’s chief executive, Ken Wenman, citing a failure to address “major issues” and “the toll from not doing so is having an enormous effect upon increasing numbers of staff”.

Those claims were made just days before 42-year-old acting operations manager Colin Bolsom was found dead in Bideford’s Old Town Park.

Mr Bolsom is thought to have taken his own life and several other members of staff have done so in recent years.

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SWASFT, which provides emergency and urgent care as well as patient transport services across the whole of the South West region, has a large workforce, employing in the region of 5,000 staff.

According to Freedom of Information requests submitted by DevonLive , in 2016-17 almost 1,000 employees left the trust, and since April 2017 there have been a further 534 staff loses. The majority of current staff vacancies are in A&E operations.

Another request revealed that the trust currently has 200 people on sick leave. Of those, around half are on long-term leave, and 60 people are off with stress.

In 2016-17, there were 620 occasions when people were signed off work due to stress. As of April 2017, that figure is already up to nearly 500.

The numbers have more than doubled since the trust acquired the former Great Western Ambulance Trust (GWAS) on February 1,2013. Back in 2013-14 there were 242 signed off work with stress cases.

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Three police cars and an ambulance car on Union Street (Image: Lauren Haly)

The figures reflect all staff who have had an episode of sickness and may relate to the same staff having multiple episodes of sickness.

Its confidential Staying Well Service has received 1,901 referrals since being launched in December 2015.

The trust says it has the third lowest sickness levels across all 10 ambulance services nationally.

A spokesperson for SWASFT said: “Our staff are the greatest and most valuable part of our service. We could not deliver our services without them and we invest a great deal in making sure our staff are safe and supported.

“We absolutely recognise the increasing pressure that our staff are under and are working hard to address this and ensure our staff are supported.”

The trust added: “We currently have several high priority programmes to work with staff and unions to find ways to end shift overruns, ensure breaks are taken on time and the work-life balance is redressed.”

Here are the results of the FOI broken down into different categories...

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Staff complaints/ grievances

In 2016-17, within the trust 59 employees lodged a complaint or grievance. Since April 2017 there have been 34.

Of those, 11 related to bullying in the previous year and there have been 10 during the current financial year.

Following a complaint or grievance being lodged nine went to a hearing in 2016-17.

That figure has already nearly doubled since April 2017, with 16 cases reported.

Of those, three went to an appeal in 2016-17, and five for the current financial year.

A spokesperson for SWASFT said: “We take all claims of bullying, harassment and intimidation very seriously and has a range of mechanisms to allow staff to report their concerns in confidence.”

It added in its annual NHS staff survey, staff have reported a decrease in bullying and harassment over the past two years, and the trust remains below the national average for all incidents of ambulance staff reporting bullying and harassment.

However, in its 2016 survey, 65 per cent said they had experienced bullying and harassment but had not reported it. The survey also revealed that 43 per cent had experienced bullying and harassment from service users or the public.

The trust said: “We recognise that some staff may not feel comfortable or confident in reporting their concerns, but we would encourage them to do so and can assure them that they will be supported throughout.”

The trust added an independent audit gave SWASFT the highest score possible for the way it encourages staff to raise concerns and supports them through robust processes.

What is it like working for SWASFT?

Under pressure: Chief executive Ken Wenman (Image: File image)

Since the publication of the open letter to chief executive to Ken Wenman about the current situation in the service, staff say the issues addressed by the GMB Union go far and deep.

The whistleblowers have made separate claims that inside the organisation there is a culture of bullying, harassment and intimidation.

No one who spoke out against the trust was willing to be named for fear of losing their jobs so their names have been changed to protect their identities.

Ben’s story

(Image: Mirrorpix)

Ben was a trust employee for nearly two years and during that time was signed off work due to stress on four occasions.

He says he left his job because he did not feel his concerns were being listened to or addressed.

“I worked in a department where bullying took place and it did feel incredibly regimental,” he said.

“The managers in place were very naive and not really qualified enough to deal with the situations that were rising so it was escalated to the union.

“Management don’t know what to do with serious issues such as bullying or harassment so they try to brush it under the carpet.

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“Staff are badly neglected in terms of issues they have to deal with. I was off with stress and it was due to the fact issues were not dealt with at the time.

“I almost felt like I was living under a dictatorial regime. The demands put on us were unrealistic. When people went off with stress that workload was then put on to others. We had to manage two areas of Devon instead of one so extra stress was then put on us.

“It almost got to the point where I was afraid to ring in sick. In the last three months before I left I dreaded going to work as I felt I was not being listened to.

“I had to leave as a I felt there was no other way to solve the issue.

“When I was there three people left our department within an eight-month period. After I left another three or four went in a very short space of time. The high turnover of staff is due to issues not being dealt with.

“I have been told that since I have left it has not got any better.”

A relative speaks

Composite picture of the A38 and an ambulance

Concerns have been raised about the trust not just by past and present employees but family members who see the impact working for the organisation has on loved ones.

A relative of someone who works within the HR department said they were speaking out in the hope of bringing long needed changes.

“My family member has witnessed countless examples of bullying and harassment within the HR department. Any staff who make a slight error or an admission gets hammered if their face does not fit, and if it doesn’t you’re a goner.

“Everyone is frightened to be a whistleblower as has been demonstrated by what happened to a particular woman who worked for the Stay Well service which is very, very far from being confidential. She became increasingly upset with HR because they would canvas opinions from the service which is for staff when they are vulnerable.

“She would be asked for confidential information about particular members of staff and it became increasingly difficult for her to work there.

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“HR were ordered to put her under a disciplinary investigation. She used the whistleblower policy but they said her complaint was vexatious. It got so bad for her she ended up resigning, yet SWASFT still held a disciplinary hearing even though she had resigned and she was then formally sacked.”

The family member added they were also aware of a number of internal investigations over issues ranging from bullying to sexual harassment, but that more often than not they were not dealt with sufficiently.

“The trust cannot be trusted to investigate itself.”

Explaining the impact the working environment at the trust has not just on staff, but also their families, the source said: “The stress my partner suffers at work has caused umpteen eruptions between us. It’s absolutely horrible working there and it’s got to stop.”

Sean’s story

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Sean is currently signed off work with stress and has admitted he has recently contemplated taking his life because of all the pressure he feels he is under.

“Colin Bolsom was the seventh suicide in the trust in three years. A lot of people and staff who have spoken to me since his death say they are just sick of it and want it to stop, and for Ken Wenman to go away.

“The trust says it supports us but there is no support. Due to all the things going on I made the decision to take my own life recently. Luckily I spoke to the trust’s wellbeing service and they talked me around and I didn’t do it.

“The wellbeing service has been put in place because of the number of suicides. I can’t fault the service as it’s something the trust has done to help us.”

“However, discrimination happens against people with mental health issues in the trust, including depression.”

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Story of Michael

The long-standing employee has worked in the organisation for many years as a paramedic and at management level, and is concerned about the impact senior management and HR department are having on the way the trust is run.

“HR are considered dangerous by staff who live in fear of the consequences of speaking out or being scapegoated.

“The organisation is toxic. Staff are persecuted, devalued and bullied by the culture of HR.

“The CEO and HR fail to listen to feedback or views of staff such as the rota review. They fail to learn from lessons as they are unable to back down or admit to their poor decision making.

File picture of an ambulance

“They turn a blind eye to serious misconduct if they consider it will cost them money bring or about an employment tribunal.

“Meanwhile longstanding professional and highly banded members of staff, some approaching retirement from lifelong careers in the NHS, are being scapegoated in order to cut jobs and save money.

“All departments are grossly under resourced and people are breaking as a result.

“Staff are leaving SWASFT in their droves. Performance and morale are at an all time low and yet the employee of the year went to HR and not front line staff.”